Doodaddy » confusion

The Girl Who Saves Dryer Lint

doodaddy — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:24:00 +0000

I contemplate the garbage. Every time I throw something away, I have to consider: can anything visible be construed as treasure? And Fern, god love her, can sure construe. Tonight I excavated from what Fern calls my “treasure pocket” the following haul: four Band-Aid wrappers, a sheet of clear plastic wrap, the hanging tag from [...]

The Mummy Part III: Frightening of the Biddies

doodaddy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:32:00 +0000

Sometimes the approving looks of strangers as they gaze upon my cute-as-custard daughter dissolve into a vaguely uneasy grimace, followed by a speedy retreat. Actually, that happens kind of a lot. We went to an art museum this weekend, first time in a year. (In early days we used to be followed around by security [...]

Blackalicious

doodaddy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:29:00 +0000

Fern got this cute book on our last vacation -- Pinkalicious -- about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns, well, pink. Except she couldn't leave it at that -- Blackalicious beckoned.

Pre-pre-teenage rebellion

doodaddy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:26:16 +0000

In tenth grade, I once saw a cool kid wearing a collared shirt over another collared shirt. Although I was — then as now — completely ignorant of the arcane rules that make an outift fashionable, I could at least decode the two-collar thing, so I dressed like that for months. Every day. Until, in [...]

Leaf Hoarder

doodaddy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:10:18 +0000

I don’t like to pathologize kids’ quirks, but sometimes my daughter is a nutcase. Kissing a swallowtail. Fern’s always had a thing for nature, probably down to all the snails and millipedes I forced on her as an infant. I push her to grow up as "the naturalist’s daughter" (and yes, thanks, I do realize [...]

Bad, Worse, Worsted

doodaddy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:37:00 +0000

My bad days probably don’t seem that bad from the outside: I bribe Fern with salty snacks to be quiet while I put the baby to bed, I miss a hair-brushing or a book-reading. Big deal, right? Channeling me? Then there are the worse days, when I’ve stayed up too late and now there’s a [...]

On the Other Hand…

doodaddy — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:48:19 +0000

Into the woods. Note the fancy hiking boots. Some days I have the hardest times with what should be the easiest parenting calls. We’re on vacation; it’s our first day in the cabin, which is remote enough from retail establishments that what we have is pretty much what we’ll get. And Fern is putting every [...]

My daughter, future cutter

doodaddy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:50:50 +0000

From my conversation with Boo during a hike today. She’d earlier gotten a scratch on her foot. Cellphone cap of the window to the soul. “Sometimes I like boo-boos and sometimes I don’t like boo-boos. I like boo-boos because I like the blood. The blood washes the boo-boo out. I want to get a boo-boo.” [...]

Lying is Fun

doodaddy — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:19:00 +0000

Explaining stuff to Boo — ATM cards, the Minnesota State Fair’s stick-food fetish, careers in HVAC — in terms she can understand is immensely satisfying. Teaching, after all, isn’t just saying what you know, it’s saying what you know in a way that your audience will “get.” Today, I feel… On the other hand, sometimes [...]

I Depend on the Disapproval of Strangers

doodaddy — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:13:00 +0000

My oddest in a long list of odd jobs was as a naturalist on a whale watch boat. The captain roamed from Curmudgonia to Jerkville but didn’t bother me much — at least, I mostly stayed out of his way. Until, that is, the day he skewered me in front of 43 paying customers. I [...]